


Star City Turbulence

by GachMoBrea



Series: My Father, Barry Allen [7]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 2nd Chapter Deleted Scene, AU, Alternate Universe, Barry is Len's DAD, Bus, CREEPER! - OC, Finding Sara, Gen, Little!Len, Mild hinting at child abduction, No one believes that Leonard isn't who they think he is, Not too Deleted 'cause it's here tho, OOC, Realizations, Some Tags make no sense, Thoughts of Harm to another person - But they deserve it, Trip - Freeform, Worried!Barry, alternating pov, long tags, protective!oliver, scared, sorry about that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 18:24:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7694728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonard is in Star City... Now what?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

\---Leonard POV---

Escape the house. Done.  
Get to on a bus to Star City. Done.  
Actually get all the way to Star City. Done.  
Find Sara and get her to help him return to his universe........In progress.

Len thanked the driver, giving him a sappy smile, before getting off the bus. He waved at a random man and ran after him, only stopping when the bus drove away.  
Star City was a lot stranger at his new height. Len also begrudged the lack of a map in his supplies as he tried to get his bearings.  
When he was last in the city, it was in ruins and there were wannabe criminals running wild. So it took him longer than he would have liked to find the spot where Sara had pointed out her apartment.  
Len snuck into the place under the literal coattails of some businessman. He found a floor map and, using it and judging by the window placement where Sara had pointed, he made an educated guess as to which floor and what number her apartment would be.  
This was all assuming the assassin was living in the same place. Or even there at all.  
As Len climbed the steps, not wanting to risk attracting attention by anyone else riding the elevator, he thought about the Oculus event.  
He told Sara to run. She kissed him. A Time Master and his cronies arrived.... Then the world went bright and he ended up here.

Len made it to the right floor and walked through the door to get his bearings as he caught his breath. Kid or no kid, that was quite a flight of steps.  
He really wished he had grabbed a sandwich.

It took four tries before Len found what, or actually who, he was looking for.  
When Sara opened the door, Len's heart leapt in his chest. She was exactly the same as he remembered her. There were some doubts that she would be a child too, or changed in some other way, but no. It was Sara. His Sara.  
"Leonard?" She even said his name the same way. "What? Why are you here? How-?" she leaned her head out the doorway to look for someone else, most likely Barry. She blinked at him with large, worried eyes, "What's going on?"  
"Sara, I need your help," Len tells her, letting himself into the room. "After the explosion at the Oculus, I was dropped into this universe in a child's body."  
The assassin had closed the door and taken a seat at her couch while Len walked back and forth to relay his story.  
"Now I'm a grown up stuck in a five year-old's body and that's not even the strangest thing," he rubs a hand over his face. He was tired. He was hungry. He wanted a nap, sandwich and a juice box but maybe not in that order.  
He was starting to think like a child.  
Shaking his head angrily, Len looks back to the assassin to see if she was paying attention.  
Her fond smile wasn't very reassuring.  
"So, Captain Spaceman," she gave him a forced serious expression. "What IS the strangest thing that's happened to you?"  
"You don't believe any of this do you?" he asks, realizing it before she even smiles playfully at him. "You think I'm making it up?"  
"It is a little extreme," Sara giggles. Maybe she isn't an assassin in this universe. Len has never heard her giggle before. "And you are going to be in so much trouble when your Daddy finds out what you did."  
Len's shoulders sag. All that work for nothing. This wasn't his Sara after all. The woman was this universe's version of Sara.  
And she wasn't going to be able to help Len at all.

"You're right," he makes a sad smile, ears perking up for another person and eyes searching out all the escape routes. "I did something wrong. Daddy's gonna be really angry at me, isn't he?"  
"Only because he loves you, Lenny," Sara smiles, touching his cheek tenderly.  
"Now," the blonde gets to her feet. "I'm gonna go get my phone, then you and I are gonna call your father before he has another heart attack. Okay?"  
"Okay," Len nods, looking to his shoes.  
He gets a pat on the head before Sara leaves the room to head to where her bedroom must be.  
Len goes out the front door.

He risks the elevator because he doesn't think he can jump the roofs with his small legs. Thankfully, no one else is using the elevator at the moment and he makes it outside without any shouts aimed at him or sounds of footsteps following.

In a coffee shop a few blocks away, Len stops to rest and think over his options.  
There aren't many options.  
In fact, he can only think of two: Go back to 'dad' or stay on the run as a five year old.  
The first one was far more appealing. He would at least be taken care of until he was big enough to take care of himself.  
Free food, clothes, a place to stay, and all that.  
The realization that he was really, truly and completely stuck there hit him fast and hard. It was so jarring to his mind, he found himself pulling his knees up to his chest to curl up in a ball in the corner of the coffee shop.

 

\---Barry's POV---

Barry doesn't want to get angry at Joe. Really, he doesn't. But the fact of the matter was that he relied on the man to keep an eye on his son and he had failed.  
Joe had failed Barry.  
"I'm sorry, Barry," the detective repeats for the thirtieth time. "All I did was make a sandwich. Leonard went upstairs for something then didn't come back down. It's like he disappeared."  
'Kidnapped.' Barry's mind supplies but he refused to think like that.  
After checking the house and the neighborhood three times in record speed, Barry sent out a text to everyone he knew. He told them to keep an eye out for Len and to call him or text him back if they saw him.  
He even sent them the picture of his son he had secretly taken while he was eating cereal that morning.

The Flash ran throughout Central City twice with still no sign of Leonard Allen.  
It had been hours since his texts with no response. Barry thinks he might just faint.  
Then his phone lit up and he clung to it like a life line as he answered, "Yes? Did you find him?"  
"Woah, there Barry," Sara Lance's voice laughed on the other side of the line. Barry hadn't even bothered to check the caller ID before answering. "He's here. Safe. At my apartment of all places!"  
"With you?" Barry's heart stopped beating so furiously at the word "safe", but he was still worriedly curious as to why his son had even left, let alone where he ended up. "How did he look? Is he ok? Did he seem angry? Hurt? Tired? Sick?"  
"Woah, woah, WOAH!" Sara's hard tone turned into a chuckle. "Breath, Barry. You won't be able to do anything if you start to hyperventilate. Why don't you just get your butt here and you can talk it over with him."  
"Yes, right. You're right. Be there in a jiffy," Barry hung up before the blonde could make fun of him for using the word 'jiffy'.

 

When the speedster got to the blonde's apartment, his heartrate skyrocketed again.  
His son was no longer there.  
He lost him...again.  
"I am the worst father ever."  
"No," Sara instantly shot that thought down. "I'm the worst friend ever. I knew that he had run away and shouldn't have left him alone. I'm sorry Barry."  
Barry nodded, but he wasn't listening. His brain was fuzzy with thoughts of what to do next.  
"At least I know he's in Star City now," the hero offers his frazzled friend a tiny smile. "Thanks for calling, Sara."  
"Go find your boy, Barry," Sara pushes him out of the apartment, grabbing her own purse and coat on the way out. "I'll check at human speeds. Just in case."  
Barry nods, then is off like a bolt.

 

\---Leonard POV---

"Everything okay there, boy?"  
Len blinks away his disparaging thoughts to look up at the voice. It's a smiling older man (correction, everyone's older than Len now, the guy is in his late forties/early fifties). He's offering his hand towards Len like he expects him to take it.  
"Peachy," Len frowns at how squeaky his voice is. "Go away."  
"Now, I can't do that," the man almost pouts, taking a step closer to Len. "Not when a cute little kid like you looks so sad and by yourself."  
'Creeper.' Len tightens his hold on the bat, muscles tensing as the man takes another step closer to him.  
"Why don't you come with me and I'll help you find your Mommy and Daddy?" the man is nearly on top of him now. One more step and Len will have to bash the guy's head in with the bat to make his escape.  
"I'd really rather not," Len wishes he could sound more like himself. Five year-olds didn't really have the vocals for cold threats.  
"Come, now," the man gives him a wide 'believe my crap' smile. "I'll even buy you an ice cream."  
The man takes another step. Len grabs the bat with his other hand and looks for a good place to hit him.  
"Leave him alone."  
The man spins around-No, he's spun around, and there's definitely some sort of painful hold involved when the stranger comes face-to-face with Oliver Queen.  
"What's your problem?" the man growls at the archer. "I was just trying to help this kid out."  
"Unless you'd like to help yourself to a trip to the hospital, I'd suggest you leave," Queen leans into the man's space enough to whisper, "And quickly."  
There's a dark tone to Queen's voice that has shivers going up Len's spine.  
The stranger runs like he's been set on fire.  
"Leonard," Queen smiles kindly down at Len. "You have had your Dad really, really worried."  
"Sorry," Len whispers, mildly shaking with residual fear. Why was he scared? He could have taken that man! ("Could have" IF he was his old self. As a five year-old?....Not so much.)  
Queen turns to glare at the doors where the man escaped before turning kind eyes to Len again, "Let's get you home, buddy."  
"Okay," Len lets Queen pick him up. On top of being hungry and thirsty. He's also very, very tired. Being a kid really took it out of you.

 

\---Barry POV---

"Barry," Caitlin sounds happy on the other side, so it must be good news. "Felicity tracked down Len and Oliver has him now. Meet him at the coffee shop-"  
The speedster doesn't listen to the rest of the directions, or even to hear the shop's name. There couldn't be too many in the city and he knew he could check them all in seconds.

When Barry sees his son in his friend's arms, safe and sound, he nearly collapses in relief.  
Then he gets really angry, but bottles it up tight until he gets the story from his son.

\- -

"Thank you, Mr. Queen," The Flash smiles at the billionaire, being cautious of the onlookers. "I'll take the boy home."  
"Just doing what I can," Oliver smiles, handing the boy over to the hero.

In order to prevent 'a scene' Barry flashes his son back home.  
The Flash costume goes off and Len is placed on the couch while Barry talks to Joe and Iris.  
"I know you'll want to talk to him about what he did too, but," the speedster glances over to the couch. "I'd like a chance to go first."  
"Of course, Bear," Iris smiles, kissing her husband on the cheek. "We'll be upstairs."  
"I'm glad he's okay," Joe smiles too, patting the younger man on the shoulder before following his daughter up the steps.

\---Leonard POV---

Barry walks over to Len and sits on the small table in front of the couch. He puts his hand on his knee and asks softly, "Why did you run away from home, Len?"  
Len sighs, maybe it's time to tell the speedster the truth, "I was trying to get back to my universe."  
"I love that you enjoy having space adventure, kiddo," Barry smiles, which makes Len frown. "But I need them to happen where I can keep an eye on you."  
"What would you say if I told you I wasn't your son?" Len tries, eyeing the hero carefully. "What if I said I was another Leonard from another universe? That you weren't really my dad at all? That we were really arch enemies and I shot you before?"  
There's plenty in those few questions to get him locked up now. Maybe being in the funny farm would do him some good.  
But Barry is smiling fondly at him again and Len thinks his brain might have melted.  
"Even if you were the most evil villain in the galaxy," Barry rubs Len's knee. "I would still want you to be safe."  
"But I'm not a good person," Len almost ends his sentence with 'Barry' but can't quite get the word out.  
"Yes you are," the speedster chuckles. "Bad people don't make anyone happy."  
Barry pokes Len gently in the chest, "You make me happy every day."  
"I ran away," Len doesn't enjoy the feeling growing in his chest. It's too warm. "I ran away from Poppa and you had to come and get me."  
"Yes," Barry nods with a small frown. "And for that you're grounded. I never want you to do that again, buddy. The world is too dangerous."  
That's it? "You're not angry?"  
"Are you kidding me?" Barry almost barks out a laugh. "I'm so angry I want to scream at the top of my lungs! I want to burn the city to the ground and build it back up with my bare hands!"  
Barry reaches for him and Len flinches on instinct, expecting a hit like Lewis used to do after he messed something up.  
His father wraps his arms around him and shakes like he's going to cry.  
"But no matter how angry I get at you Leonard Allen, I will always love you more."

 

\- - -


	2. Bonus Chapter: Oliver POV with Len

When Oliver got the text from his friend, he instantly had Felicity checking the city's cameras for any sign of the boy.  
"I'm going to drive around to look," he told the blonde as he left. She waved at him that she heard, eyes glued to her screens as she furiously typed in the command codes.  
Oliver was still driving around when he got the update that Sara had seen little Lenny. Felicity focused her attention to the cameras near other blonde's apartment and traced the boy to a coffee shop nearby.  
"I'm close," Oliver informs the techie over the phone where he has her on speaker. "Let Barry know."  
He parks the car and heads inside the shop. 

Inside, there's a man (late forties/early fifties) hunched in the corner talking to someone. Oliver tilts his head and catches a glimpse of a young, familiar face.  
His anger boils as he strides over to the man.  
As he gets closer, he can hear the man saying, "Come, now. I'll even buy you an ice cream."  
Oliver can see Leonard's face over the creeper's shoulder. The boy's eyes are large and scared, on the brink of spilling over in tears perhaps. One of his little hands reaches over to join the other in a tight grip on a bat.  
He doesn't waste any time ordering the man to, "Leave him alone."  
Then, because he can't completely clamp down on his anger, he grabs the man's arm-pull, twist, apply pressure, spin- He has the man facing him now.   
"What's your problem?" the man growls at him. Trying not to move so that the hold Oliver has him in doesn't hurt worse. "I was just trying to help this kid out."  
If only he was dressed as the Green Arrow, then he could give the man the beat down he deserved for bothering the poor boy.  
He resigns himself to only making threats.  
"Unless you'd like to help yourself to a trip to the hospital, I'd suggest you leave," he leans into the man's space enough to whisper darkly, "And quickly."  
He lets go of the man so that he can run away like the dog he was.

Oliver turns his attention to the still cowering boy.  
"Leonard," he smiles down at him, hoping the kid remembered him from his trips over with his father. "You have had your Dad really, really worried."  
"Sorry," Leonard whispers, shaking a little. Oliver makes sure to etch the creeper's face into his mind so that he can 'pay him a little visit' later.  
He keeps all darkness out of his face and voice as he tell the little boy, "Let's get you home, buddy."  
"Okay."   
Oliver picks him up. The boy melts in his arms. He could be tired or hungry. Or feeling relieved that it was all over?  
'Either way', Oliver thinks as he walks out the door to wait for Barry. 'That creeper is going to know what an arrow through the hand feels like.'

Oliver's phone goes off.  
"Yes?" he answers it one-handed, the other arm still holding Leonard.  
"Oliver, I can't get through to Barry," Felicity's worried voice speaks out over the lines. "He's not answering his phone."  
'I don't think he even has the thing on him if he's in his speedster suit,' Oliver thinks, then tells the techie, "Try calling Caitlin or Cisco. See if they can get him over the comms."  
"Right! Good, perfect," she hangs up and Oliver smiles, pocketing the device again so that he can use both arms.

"If Dad kicks me out of the house, can I live with you?" a tiny voice asks Oliver.  
He grins, patting the boy on the back, "Your Dad would never kick you out, Leonard.  
"What if he doesn't like me any more once he knows the truth?" the tiny voice adds.  
"The truth about what?" Was this 'truth' the reason why the boy had run away?  
"That I'm not really his Leonard, that I'm another Leonard from another universe," the voice sounds very, very tired and resigned to a doomed fate it thinks it will have.  
'Kids and their imaginations,' Oliver sighs. "Even if you were really a girl named Shirly, your Dad would still love you."  
Then Barry arrives as The Flash and Oliver knows his friend will be able to wipe away any doubts from Leonard's mind.

"Thank you, Mr. Queen," The Flash smiles him. Oliver mentally congratulates the speedster for being cautious of the onlookers. "I'll take the boy home."  
"Just doing what I can," Oliver smiles, handing the boy over to the hero.

Barry runs off with his son and Oliver goes back to his car.  
He had a creeper to find.

 

\- - -

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - a statement that denies something, especially responsibility.  
> So I am "stating" that I do NOT own "The Flash" or "Arrow" or their characters.


End file.
